Scotland crash out of Euro 2020 as England reach reach knockout stage by winning group

22 June 2021, 23:18 | Updated: 22 June 2021, 23:45

By Nick Hardinges

@NHardinges

Scotland have crashed out of their first Euros in 25 years, while England marched on to the knockout stages by winning their group.

The Tartan Army's joy of watching their national side in an international tournament for the first time in decades was abruptly cut short on Tuesday evening.

A crushing 3-1 defeat to Croatia at Glasgow's Hampden Park saw Scotland finish bottom of Group D, meaning they missed out on one of the four places available in the second round for the best third-placed teams.

However, their rivals south of the border enjoyed a more productive evening, with England beating the Czech Republic in a relatively comfortable 1-0 victory at London's Wembley Stadium.

The win saw the Three Lions top the same group, but it will mean they end up playing whoever finishes second in Group F - either France, Germany, Portugal or outsiders Hungary.

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The Scots, playing in their first major tournament since the 1998 France World Cup, needed a victory in their final Group D fixture to reach the last 16 but, despite a bold effort, fell short again.

Goalscorer Callum McGregor admitted the players were "shattered" by their Euro 2020 elimination at the hands of Croatia.

"It was a proud moment to get my first goal but ultimately we're disappointed. It gives you the hunger to try and get back here," he told ITV.

"The fans were first-class, we just want to thank them."

Manager Steve Clarke insisted he was proud of his side's achievement in reaching the finals.

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"I'm proud the players managed to get here, for the first time in 23 years," he said.

"It was a team tournament hardened against a team in their first time in a tournament for a long time. We'll learn from it for sure.

For England, goalscorer Raheem Sterling said the Three Lions must go into the knockout phase with no fear after beating the Czech Republic.

"At some point you are going to have to face the best teams, that's the whole point of being in the tournament, which is to challenge yourself," he told the broadcaster.

"Our objective from the beginning was to win the group. It's tournament football and things are going to be difficult at times but we need to keep doing what we're doing as a team which is being solid and taking our chances when we can."

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Meanwhile, manager Gareth Southgate vowed England have more to offer: "There is more to come from us, definitely. We're not fluent but we have moments where we are a good side."

Elsewhere, Uefa said on Tuesday that it has no plans to take the semi-finals and final of the European Championships away from Wembley.

It comes as the UK Government announced more than 60,000 fans will be permitted to attend the matches - 75 per cent of the stadium's capacity.

All ticket holders will need to follow a number of strict entry requirements, including having a negative Covid-19 test or proof of full vaccination - two doses received, 14 days before the fixture.

While there has been no announcement on the outcome of talks between the government, the FA and Uuefa over the lifting of quarantine restrictions to allow 2,500 VIPs to attend the final, this makes a deal even more likely.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: "We have worked extremely closely with UEFA and the FA to ensure rigorous and tight public health measures are in place whilst allowing more fans to see the action live."